Starlink Equipped Ships

[Ret MP]

Someone may have posted this in this thread or another, I think I saw it somewhere before. So, excuse me of it has been posted before but I'm not going through 12+ pages and a crappy search feature.

 

Is there a spreadsheet or something somewhere that shows the ships that have completed the Starlink upgrade/process?  

Edited May 20, 2023 by Ret MP

[twangster]

1 hour ago, The sea calls my name said:

I have a question for you related to your recent PC cruise ( which I finished reading the fabulous review yesterday). My DH and I are doing this Oct west to east sailing from San Diego to Tampa. I only use the internet for surging , texting and Facebook calling my children.  after reading the issues you reported ( and having ZERO technical abilities) I am wondering if it is worth the cost for us to puchase it. We can you our 4 complimentary days. Thanks for your thoughts and for all those fabulous pictures. It has really spiked my excitment for this cruise. 

 

By October Radiance is supposed to have the WiFi infrastructure replaced or so the Voom team onboard told me.  

 

My poor internet experience on Radiance I suspect was mostly due to the poorly configured WiFi onboard and less about the satellite provider.  It should be better for you if they have replaced onboard equipment by then.

 

If you carefully manage the 4 free D+ days and if your cellular company includes cellular in Mexico you might find you don't need to buy Voom. 

 

Your itinerary looks like this:

 

Sat 07Oct2023    San Diego, California    -    4:00 PM    Boarding
Sun 08Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Mon 09Oct2023    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico    11:00 AM    -    Tendered
Tue 10Oct2023    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico    -    2:00 PM    Tendered
Wed 11Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Thu 12Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Fri 13Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Sat 14Oct2023    Puntarenas, Costa Rica    11:59 AM    10:00 PM    Docked
Sun 15Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Mon 16Oct2023    Fuerte Amador, Panama    8:00 AM    6:00 PM    Docked
Tue 17Oct2023    Panama Canal, Panama    6:00 AM    6:00 PM    Cruising
Wed 18Oct2023    Cartagena, Colombia    10:30 AM    6:00 PM    Docked
Thu 19Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Fri 20Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Sat 21Oct2023    Cozumel, Mexico    8:00 AM    6:00 PM    Docked
Sun 22Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Mon 23Oct2023    Tampa, Florida    6:00 AM    -    Departure

 

Assuming your phone works in Cabo using cellular (if your cellular provider includes Mexico) you will be connected on days 3 and 4.

 

If you can wait until noon on day 5 to use the first free D+ 24 hour pass you will have internet for that afternoon and the morning of day 6 until noon.  

 

Then use the 2nd free D+ 24 hour pass at noon on day 7 which will keep you connected until the ship arrives in Puntarenas at noon on day 8.

 

Use your next D+ 24 hour plan on day 10 at noon or once back on the ship after he day in Fuerte Amador which will keep connected for half the day or more while going through the Panama Canal.

 

Use your last free D+ 24 hour pass on day 13 at noon so you'll be connected until noon on day 14.

 

Day 15 is Mexico so if your cellular provider includes Mexico you can use cellular.

 

All that's left is the final sea day until your are in Tampa.  

 

I would talk with your cellular provider to inquire about coverage in Mexico and also to see if they offer international day passes that could be used on days 8, 10 & 12.  Those day passes combined may be a lot less than buying Voom for 16 days.   

 

However if the cost of a full voyage Voom plan is acceptable to you I suspect it will work better for you then it did for me.  

 

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Someone may have posted this in this thread or another, I think I saw it somewhere before. So, excuse me of it has been posted before but I'm not going through 12+ pages and a crappy search feature.

 

Is there a spreadsheet or something somewhere that shows the ships that have completed the Starlink upgrade/process?  

 

See post #2.

 

Spoiler alert - all Royal ships should have Starlink now.  

[The sea calls my name]

32 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

By October Radiance is supposed to have the WiFi infrastructure replaced or so the Voom team onboard told me.  

 

My poor internet experience on Radiance I suspect was mostly due to the poorly configured WiFi onboard and less about the satellite provider.  It should be better for you if they have replaced onboard equipment by then.

 

If you carefully manage the 4 free D+ days and if your cellular company includes cellular in Mexico you might find you don't need to buy Voom. 

 

Your itinerary looks like this:

 

Sat 07Oct2023    San Diego, California    -    4:00 PM    Boarding
Sun 08Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Mon 09Oct2023    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico    11:00 AM    -    Tendered
Tue 10Oct2023    Cabo San Lucas, Mexico    -    2:00 PM    Tendered
Wed 11Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Thu 12Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Fri 13Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Sat 14Oct2023    Puntarenas, Costa Rica    11:59 AM    10:00 PM    Docked
Sun 15Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Mon 16Oct2023    Fuerte Amador, Panama    8:00 AM    6:00 PM    Docked
Tue 17Oct2023    Panama Canal, Panama    6:00 AM    6:00 PM    Cruising
Wed 18Oct2023    Cartagena, Colombia    10:30 AM    6:00 PM    Docked
Thu 19Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Fri 20Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Sat 21Oct2023    Cozumel, Mexico    8:00 AM    6:00 PM    Docked
Sun 22Oct2023    Cruising    -    -    Cruising
Mon 23Oct2023    Tampa, Florida    6:00 AM    -    Departure

 

Assuming your phone works in Cabo using cellular (if your cellular provider includes Mexico) you will be connected on days 3 and 4.

 

If you can wait until noon on day 5 to use the first free D+ 24 hour pass you will have internet for that afternoon and the morning of day 6 until noon.  

 

Then use the 2nd free D+ 24 hour pass at noon on day 7 which will keep you connected until the ship arrives in Puntarenas at noon on day 8.

 

Use your next D+ 24 hour plan on day 10 at noon or once back on the ship after he day in Fuerte Amador which will keep connected for half the day or more while going through the Panama Canal.

 

Use your last free D+ 24 hour pass on day 13 at noon so you'll be connected until noon on day 14.

 

Day 15 is Mexico so if your cellular provider includes Mexico you can use cellular.

 

All that's left is the final sea day until your are in Tampa.  

 

I would talk with your cellular provider to inquire about coverage in Mexico and also to see if they offer international day passes that could be used on days 8, 10 & 12.  Those day passes combined may be a lot less than buying Voom for 16 days.   

 

However if the cost of a full voyage Voom plan is acceptable to you I suspect it will work better for you then it did for me.  

 

Thanks for the info something to give careful consideration to. 

[Ret MP]

41 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

See post #2.

 

Spoiler alert - all Royal ships should have Starlink now.  

Kewl, I haven't been keeping up with this thread or subject.  

Edited May 20, 2023 by Ret MP

[Ret MP]

47 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

See post #2.

 

Spoiler alert - all Royal ships should have Starlink now.  

Last question:  What the hell is X-Ray Vision?  Are they issuing Dick Tracy X-Ray Vision glasses upon embarkation on certain ships, now?  LOL

[Biker19]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

What the hell is X-Ray Vision? 

That used to work on a few ships pre-COVID but I think it has been disabled fleet wide. In the app if you go to a particular location on the ship, you can "see" through the walls near the bridge and can view the bridge (inside) webcam.

Edited May 21, 2023 by Biker19

[twangster]

1 hour ago, Ret MP said:

Last question:  What the hell is X-Ray Vision?  Are they issuing Dick Tracy X-Ray Vision glasses upon embarkation on certain ships, now?  LOL

 

 

Only newer ships in my experience and it was flaky.  One moment it worked, a minute later... nope.  

Edited May 21, 2023 by twangster

[Ret MP]

18 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

That used to work on a few ships pre-COVID but I think it has been disabled fleet wide. In the app if you go to a particular location on the ship, you can "see" through the walls near the bridge and can view the bridge (inside) webcam.

Oh ya, I remember that.  I forgot that it was called X-Ray Vision.  Duh!  Thanks

[twangster]

Looks like SES, the former provider for Royal before Starlink, is planning to blend Starlink and their own MEO satellite service into a combined offering targeting cruise ships.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/13/spacex-starlink-partners-with-ses-for-combined-cruise-market-service.html

[Kordy]

Does this mean, that a ship will get a bonded connection with twice the bandwidth - combining the power of SES and Starlink into one large connection?  This could break all Starlink records as it's 2 providers in 1...

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, Kordy said:

Does this mean, that a ship will get a bonded connection with twice the bandwidth - combining the power of SES and Starlink into one large connection? 

Very unlikely. The cost of adding SES to the mix is likely not something RCI would want to pay for. There's enough BW via Starlink only.

[twangster]

4 hours ago, Kordy said:

Does this mean, that a ship will get a bonded connection with twice the bandwidth - combining the power of SES and Starlink into one large connection?  This could break all Starlink records as it's 2 providers in 1...

 

Starlink has demonstrated some pretty outstanding speeds on their commercial platform exceeding what O3b/SES could deliver on their own platform.

 

Currently on Royal ships they operate a number of Starlink terminals and distribute guests across all of them.  Radiance class tends to have eight terminals, Voyager class twelve and Oasis class eighteen terminals if I recall correctly.  

 

By distributing users across all of the independent terminals they aggregate up to some pretty impressive speeds. Unfortunately Royal chooses to apply per user speed restrictions on most ships now so a guest will never realize the full potential of Starlink, or SES/O3b for that matter. 

 

Most guests on most ships are now throttled to around 10 Mbps down and 4 Mbps up well short of what Starlink is capable of.

[twangster]

Currently on Allure.

 

 

Pretty much identical to Utopia, Icon, Grandeur, Freedom, etc.  all from Florida recently.

[Kordy]

20 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Very unlikely. The cost of adding SES to the mix is likely not something RCI would want to pay for. There's enough BW via Starlink only.

 

Looks like other cruise lines are signing up for it... see below:

https://www.ses.com/press-release/virgin-voyages-powers-fastest-internet-sea-industry-first-integrated-meo-leo-service